Plymouth Synagogue

A Jewish community was present in Plymouth by the mid-18th century. The members were immigrants, primarily from the German lands and the Netherlands. Most were members of an extended family with the surname Emden. They are known to have been meeting regularly for services in private homes by 1745, at some point the services moved to rented rooms. Plans for building a synagogue had begun by 1759. In 1762 building land was leased, but the lease was signed by a Christian named Samuel Champion since it was not clear that leases signed by Jews were legal. The Congregation bought the freehold in 1834.

No architect's name is recorded, and it is assumed that the rectangular, pitched-roof structure was designed and erected by a local master builder. The building is of whitewashed brick and stone with a roof of Cornish slate. The street front is the eastern end of the synagogue, so the door is placed on the western front, in what is effectively the back garden. The building is tucked on a side-street, Sharman Kadish, the leading expert on Jewish buildings in Britain, believes that an unobtrusive location was chosen to avoid provoking the destructive riots that non-Anglican houses of worship often provoked in the eighteenth century. Nothing on the exterior distinguishes the building from the…